The big 6 games of Poker

Texas Hold’em

Up first, we have the most popular and well-known poker game, Texas Hold’em.

Texas Hold’em is likely to be the best option for fresh faced poker players, although it is still a difficult game, it will help you learn some tips and rules for other games too.

There are four different stages to the game, after each stage, you will be able to call, raise, or check once your pre-flop cards have been dealt. The stages are:

Pre-flop: you will be dealt two hole cards faced down

The flop: next are the community cards, that are dealt face up so all players can see

The turn: the fourth community card is dealt

The river: finally the fifth community card is dealt

The aim of the game is to have the best five-card poker hand out of the seven cards available.

Seven Card Stud

This poker variant is more of a challenge than Texas Hold’em, it is likely to need a bit more skill.

Unlike Texas Hold’em, there are no community cards, apart from in rare circumstances.

The game will begin with two cards face down(the hole cards) and a third face up (door card).

You are then dealt seven cards, three of these face down and four face up, you will choose the best five-card combination. During a hand, opponents will have to show you some of their cards, then you will all reveal your hand after the last round of betting.

The player that holds the best five card hand from the seven that have been dealt will be crowned winner.

Omaha High

Also known as just ‘Omaha’, this game has some similarities to the famous Texas Hold’em, making it the perfect game to learn second!

Instead of two hole cards, in omaha you will get four, but you can only use two of these.

There are five community cards dealt, with your two chosen hole cards, you can use three community cards, the player with the highest hand at showdown wins the pot - all players will play until the end.

Omaha Hi/Lo

This card game is similar to Omaha High and Texas Hold’em, but can be more profitable if played correctly.

Each player will receive four cards that are all face down and dealt one at a time. Like Hold’em, there are four stages.

Pre-flop: the four cards are dealt face down

The Flop: three community cards are dealt face up

The Turn: the fourth community is dealt

The River: The final card is dealt

The aim is to get the best high hand, using two cards from your hand and three from the community cards.

Razz

Razz has similarities to seven card stud, but this time round you are playing for the lowest hand rather than the highest. Making the best hand the wheel, which is A 2 3 4 5 of any suit. The ace will always be played as low and flushes and straights will not count.

This stud poker game can be a challenge, even the top poker players get discouraged!

The pot will start with each player placing an ante, when playing pot limit $20-$40 razz, usually the house will set the amount, but it could be around $2.

The cards you are dealt at the start of a razz hand have a big impact on your chances of winning any hand throughout the game. If you only stay in the pot when you have good cards and fold everything else, you will have a better chance of winning than most other players

Each player is dealt two cards face down and one dealt face up. You are then dealt a fourth card face up after betting, which is known as 4th street.

Another card is dealt face up (5th street), bets are made and the 6th street card is also dealt face up. The 7th street card will be dealt face down, a showdown will then occur to determine who the winner is of the stud game.

H.O.R.S.E

This is a mixed game that includes the games Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Eight-or-Better (Omaha High).

The game switches between Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, and Seven Card Stud after each hand. An Eight-Or-Better hand is played before another Texas Hold'em hand starts the cycle again.

Usually the game is played at a fixed limit betting structure but can be played in cash game and tournaments.